Friday, February 26, 2016

We
have had a mild winter here in Texas and the current weather is quite
nice. The predictions for the next week are for us to have low
temperatures in the high to low 50s and
high temperatures in the 70s. Nevertheless, Texas weather is
predictably unpredictable so we will probably be getting more cold
weather before summer rolls around.

In
the program we have been preparing fields for planting rose seedlings,
pruning, planting roses and peaches, and planning for the next set of
rose pollinations. We have recently
received plants from Greenheart Nurseries, Weeks Roses, Star Roses, and
Chamblee’s Nursery and for more will come from Bailey’s Nursery,
Antique Rose Emporium, Francis Roses, Chambersville Heritage Rose
Gardens, and Seville Farms. All these will go into the
Combating Rose Rosette Disease SCRI evaluations plots in College
Station but also with Brent Pemberton in Overton, Texas, Mark Windham at
the University of Tennessee and Tom Evans at the University of
Delaware.

Last
year with our collaborating rose breeders we managed to do about 3,000
pollinations and produce about 5,000 seed which are currently being
stratified/germinated. For this
we need to thank the participating breeders: Christian Bedard of Weeks
Roses, Michele Scheiber of Star Roses and Plants, Ping Lim of Roses by
Ping (Altman Plants), Jim Sproul of Roses by Design, David Zlesak, and
Don Holeman. This year we expect to do even
more pollinations.

Two species that appear to be resistant to RRD are
Rosa palustris and Rosa setigera. Both these are native to North America. We have been fortunate to have collaborators collect
Rosa palustris in West Virginia (Jim Amrine) and South Carolina (Jonathan Windham) and
Rosa setigera from north Texas (Claude Graves and Dean Oswald at
the Chambersville Heritage Rose Garden). We are always looking for more
germplasm for our work.

Our
students have been active in presenting their research. Ellen Roundey,
Shuyin (Sharon) Liang, and Xuan (Jade) Wu presented their research at
the Texas Plant Protection Conference
in and Annual TAMU Horticulture and MEPS poster competition in December
and just last week at the Plant Breeding Symposium. In the poster
competition one has to explain years of research in 2 to 3 minutes to a
panel of judges (professors)…not an easy task!
Shuyin and Jade were winners with first and third place respectively at
the Annual TAMU Horticulture and MEPS competition. Congratulations.

In
January, Muqing (Mandy) Yan traveled to San Diego, CA to attend the
international Plant and Animal Genome meetings and gave an invited talk
entitled, ‘Map Construction in the
Diploid Rose with GBS’. But what is GBS? This means Genotyping by
Sequencing which is an efficient way to generate 1000s of DNA markers to
help us select for specific gene variants that condition traits such as
disease resistance. This technique has been shown
to accelerate the new variety development in other crops. We are now
working towards using it in rose to develop varieties resistant to the
black spot fungus and the rose rosette virus.

At
the meetings of the Southern Region American Society of Horticultural
Sciences, Jon Corser, an undergraduate student working with Ellen
Roundey and Jeekin Lau to count the
chromosomes of roses, gave an oral presentation about their work. He
did a wonderful job. He continues with this work and soon will be doing
pollinations as well.

There are a couple of rose meetings that I would like to mention.

First,
Jen Olson, the Plant Pathologist at Oklahoma State University will be
giving an Update on Rose Rosette Disease at the Tulsa Community College
Northeast Campus on Saturday,
March 5th. She is speaking at the Consulting Rosarian School and Winter
Rose Workshop event sponsored by the South Central District and Tulsa
Rose Society (http://tulsarosesociety.org/Data/ScheduleofEvents2016MC.pdf).
Other talks include several by Don Meyers about pesticide use, Eric
Rebek about insect problems, Don Adlong about soils, pH and fertilizers,
and Carol Shockley about new rose varieties. Registration ends on March 1st.

Second,
Mark Windham and Pam Smith will be talking about their experience and
how to manage the Rose Rosette Disease in Allen, Texas on the 9th of April. This program is organized by
the Collin County Rose Society and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. See the following link for more information:
http://collin.agrilife.org/…/RoseRosetteEducationSeminarApr…

In
a couple of weeks, I will venture off to the snowy landscape at Michigan State Universitywith four graduate students: Muqing Yan, Ellen
Roundey, Zainab Mansur and Jeekin
Lau. We will be participating in the Annual Meeting of the RosBREED II
project where we will be meeting with fruit and ornamental breeders from
throughout the USA to learn how to use DNA markers to accelerate our
breeding programs. In roses, Dr. Hokanson and
students from the University of Minnesota and our group at TAMU
collaborate to find DNA markers to facilitate the development of black
spot resistant rose cultivars. I will tell you about how the meeting
went in the next Rose Update.

If
you have any questions about our work here at Texas A&M University
or how to support the Basye or Moore Rose Collection and Legacy, the
Rose Breeding
and Genetics program, and our students, please contact me (dbyrne@tamu.edu).
We need
your support for student scholarships and to maintain the many research
gardens needed for an excellent research program. Your support makes
our program possible. I try to post regular updates on the
Rose Breeding and Genetics Facebook and the
Combating Rose Rosette Disease Facebook pages. Please check
them out and like us!

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Horticulture Career Fair

Wednesday, Feb. 24th from 10am - 2pm

In the Atrium of HFSB

This event is planned with YOU in mind. Whether you’re a freshman or graduating senior, this is your chance to get information about future jobs and internships. These industry leaders are looking for students interested in production, sales and marketing, viticulture/enology, floral design, management, and much more! The Career Fair is the perfect place to practice speaking with industry reps and potential employers. You may also want to ask them about future trends and what they are looking for in an employee. We hope that you will take advantage of this important opportunity!

Take a Company to Lunch!

How
about a free lunch and time with company representatives? If you sign
up to take a company to lunch, that is exactly what you will get. We are
providing a free lunch for students to "take" companies to lunch. The
lunch will be held on the second floor of HFSB. Sign up sheets are
located in HFSB 204. This is based on a first come, first serve basis so
hurry and sign up today!

Sign up for Volunteer Hours!

In
need of volunteer hours? Help us run the career fair! We will need
assistance the day of the career fair with the student check in table
and various other needs throughout the day. You may work as little or as
many hours as needed. We would be happy to have the assistance! Sign up
sheets are located in HFSB 204.

Feb. 23rd Events!

Resume Review - Tuesday, Feb. 23rd - HFSB Atrium 10:30 - 12:30Stop bythe atrium from 10:30 - 12:30 on Tuesday to have your resume reviewed by a career center specialist. Horticulture Networking Event - Tuesday, Feb. 23rd (the night before the Career Fair) - Aloft Hotel - 6 to 8 PM. FREE FOOD.This
is a chance for you to meet the company reps in an informal setting. It
is a great opportunity for you to socialize with the company
representatives and talk to them about the industry, how they got to
where they are, or any questions you may have for them. As an added
bonus, many of the reps are former students! Free food will be served
and dress is business casual.

Stop by the atrium from 10:30 - 12:30 on Tuesday to have your resume reviewed by a career center specialist.

Horticulture Networking Event

Tuesday, Feb. 23rd (the night before the HORT Career Fair)

Aloft Hotel - 6 to 8 PM. FREE FOOD

Calling all students!
The Horticulture Networking Event is a chance for you to meet horticulture company representatives in an informal setting. This is a great opportunity for you to socialize with the company
representatives and talk to them about the industry, how they got to
where they are, or any questions you may have for them. As an added
bonus, many of the reps are former students!

Free food will be served
and dress is business casual. Companies will also be giving away door prizes to students in attendance.

Don't miss this wonderful chance to visit with companies prior to the Horticulture Career Fair!

Monday, February 8, 2016

We at Texas A&M University invite you to Aggieland Saturday, an annual campus-wide open house for prospective students and their families.

Stop by the Agrilife Center Exhibit Hall to visit with departments from the College of Agriculture and life Sciences. The Horticulture Department will be there from 9 AM - 2 PM to meet you and answer any questions you may have!

We will also be giving out free plants to those interested in the department.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Saturday, March 5th beginning at 8 AM

Location: Lawn of Horticulture/Forestry Science Building (HFSB)

Varieties of vegetable, fruit, and ornamental plants will be available. More details to come.

The TAMU Horticulture Club's Annual Spring Plant
Sale is the student organizations largest fundraiser of the year. Through it, students have
the opportunity to compete in regional and national plant competitions
such as ASHS. As in previous years, the sale will be located on the lawn of
the Horticulture/Forestry
Science Building. A variety of vegetable, fruit, and
ornamental plants will be available. Details to come, so be checking in. For questions or to join the email list, contact the student group at tamuhorticultureclub@gmail.com.

The Howdy Farm will be hosting an informational for
interested students on Thursday February 4th at 6:30PM!

"Come for food
and fun while you learn about what it takes to be a Howdy Farmer! We
will talk about why WE love the farm, why YOU should love the farm, and
how you can get involved! You'll also learn about upcoming events
throughout the semester and have the opportunity to make new friends!"